UN maritime agency rejects Hormuz tolls

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will meet top Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi on Saturday, with Japanese media saying she will make a speech touting a "free and open" Indo-Pacific region. 

The trip is Takaichi's first to Vietnam since becoming prime minister in October and she aims to deepen bilateral cooperation on energy security, supply chain resilience and technological innovation, according to Vietnamese state media reports. 

She will meet Saturday with Prime Minister Le Minh Hung as well as top leader To Lam, the Communist Party boss who last month also became president.

Japan is Vietnam's largest provider of official development assistance and a key investor and trading partner, with two-way trade surpassing $50 billion for the first time last year.

Both countries share concerns about China's territorial claims in the East and South China Seas, and both have sought to hedge against US-driven trade disruptions by broadening economic and security ties.

But Hanoi aims to stay on good terms with all global powers through its traditional "bamboo diplomacy" approach, while Tokyo has seen its already frosty relations with Beijing deteriorate markedly in recent months. 

Takaichi drew a sharp rebuke from Beijing in November when she suggested that close US ally Japan might intervene militarily to thwart any Chinese attempt to take Taiwan.

China, which regards democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to annex it, summoned Japan's ambassador, warned Chinese citizens against visiting Japan and imposed trade restrictions.

Beijing has also slammed Takaichi's calls for a "free and open Indo-Pacific", saying they are a veiled attempt to promote bloc confrontation.

Takaichi will return to the theme in her foreign policy speech on Saturday, according to Japanese media reports, calling for cooperation to ensure security, free trade and stable supply chains including for energy and critical minerals.

She will speak at a university in Hanoi, an event to which foreign media have been denied access.

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The top-seeded Detroit Pistons recovered from the brink of NBA playoff elimination with an astounding comeback against the Orlando Magic on Friday, taking their series to a decisive game seven.

Up 3-2 and seeking a close-out win, the Magic had led by as many as 24 in the second half, before their shooting suddenly collapsed and Detroit took full advantage.

A shell-shocked Orlando missed 23 consecutive field goals -- the longest streak in playoff history -- scoring just one point in over 10 minutes of basketball.

Boos rained down on the court as a 71-54 Magic advantage was transformed into an 80-72 Detroit lead, with a stunning 26-1 run.

The Pistons sealed a 93-79 victory.

"Never say die, simple as that. I mean, Detroit grit, it's what we've been talking about all year," said Cade Cunningham, who led the way with 32 points and 10 rebounds.

Having been down 3-1 in the series, the Pistons had looked set to become just the seventh top seed in NBA history to lose in the first round to their conference's bottom seed.

But they now have a chance to win the series back in Detroit on Sunday, and progress to an Eastern semi-final against either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Toronto Raptors.

After an even first quarter, Orlando went on a hot streak for a sudden 17-point lead. Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. all sank three-pointers in less than a minute. 

Paolo Banchero stirred to life too, with Orlando shooting 62 percent in the second quarter as their defense restricted Detroit to 12 points.

Orlando's lead stretched to 24 soon after the break, before an epic Pistons fightback began.

Detroit were suddenly winning every turnover, while the Magic's shooting collapsed under the pressure of trying to close out their first playoff series win since 2010.

The Pistons, having dominated the regular season with a 60-22 record, will now be favorites to win their own first playoff series since 2008.

"Thank God we get to take this back to the crib. It's gonna be loud in Detroit, and we got to finish our business," said Cunningham, who scored 19 in the fourth quarter.

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Separatists in Alberta are preparing to submit a petition on Monday that they say has enough signatures to force a referendum on independence for the oil-rich Canadian province.

Polls indicate the pro-independence camp remains a minority among Alberta's five million people, but has hit a historic high of roughly 30 percent.

Alberta separatists are also closer than ever to forcing a referendum, riding momentum fuelled by intensifying grievances over Ottawa's control of the provincial oil industry. 

They have also undeniably gotten a boost from the return to power of US President Donald Trump.

After launching a petition in January, Stay Free Alberta, the group coordinating the independence push, had until the beginning of May to collect 178,000 signatures to force a referendum.

The group's leader, Mitch Sylvestre, expressed confidence the group will succeed.

"We will have the required signatures to trigger the referendum with a comfortable buffer," Sylvestre told AFP Thursday.

The separatists plan to present their list to provincial officials in the capital Edmonton on Monday.

- 'Permanent change' -

Alberta's First Nations have filed a court challenge, arguing independence would violate their treaty rights, a case that could render a referendum illegal.

But even if the vote never happens, or the separatists ultimately lose, many believe the process has left Canada permanently changed.

Michael Wagner is an independent historian and long-standing supporter of Albertan independence.

"Even if we lose the referendum, (this) is not going to just disappear," he told AFP. "I think this is going to be a permanent change in our political culture."

Jason Kenney, a conservative federalist former Alberta premier, agreed.

If the independence camp gets 20–35 percent support in a referendum, "it will turn the separatist movement from a marginal fringe into a real factor in our politics that will be disruptive for a long time to come," he told an event last month.

- 'Tipping point' -

Alberta joined the Canadian confederation in 1905 and resentments towards eastern political leaders in Ontario and Quebec fuelled marginal separatist movements at various points over the last century.

But Wagner said separatism gathered real pace in protest against former prime minister Pierre Trudeau's 1980 National Energy Program, which broadened Ottawa's control over the oil industry.

The program included price controls for domestic oil sales and new taxes giving Ottawa more revenue from Alberta's oil.

Trudeau's government argued the measures protected Canadians following the global oil price shocks of the 1970s.

Wagner said the program was considered an attack in Alberta and called it a "game-changer" which entrenched the idea of independence.

Fast-forward 35 years, Trudeau's son Justin is elected prime minister with a climate-conscious agenda reviled by many in Alberta.

Through Trudeau's decade in power, Albertans accused his Liberal government of demonizing oil production and stifling investments in the sector, especially for pipeline capacity.

Mark Carney's 2025 election was "a tipping point", Wagner said.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre had a huge polling lead in early 2025.

"It was fully expected he would be our hero. He would rescue us from the Liberal government. When the polls started turning for Carney, and then Carney actually won, the disappointment here was so dramatic," Wagner said.

- 51st state? -

Trump has discussed annexing Canada and weakening it economically, but the US role in Alberta's current separatist effort is disputed.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent drew attention in January when he said the US and Alberta were "natural partners."

Some secessionists insist Alberta's future lies in union with Washington.

But Sylvestre's legal advisor Jeffrey Rath, who says he has met several times with top State Department officials on future Alberta-US ties, rejects statehood.

"The people in our movement are not interested in freeing themselves from the clutches of the federal government... just to put ourselves under yet another government 3,500 miles away," he told the right-wing True North media outlet.

But, he argued, Trump's support will be crucial to stabilizing Alberta as it breaks away from Canada.

For Wagner, "51st state people have always been a very small minority."

"Most Alberta independence supporters are actually patriotic Canadians who have just been frustrated."

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Three Iranian men pressed rehydrated raisins at an artisan distillery just outside New York, thousands of miles from their war-struck homeland. 

They were carefully producing aragh sagi, a traditional spirit banned by the clerical authorities along with all alcohol following the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Despite its outlaw moonshine status, the drink is still made clandestinely and consumed inside Iran. 

"Everybody's drinking, but we just don't want to get caught," said Siavash Karampour, formerly a fixture on Tehran's rock music scene and now the co-manager of a bar in Brooklyn. 

Together with three childhood friends who, like him, came to New York to rebuild their lives, they decided to brew the Iranian firewater in the United States. 

They say they wanted to offer others like them a taste of home as well as "something that has been behind the curtain." 

Branded as "SAG," their aragh sagi -- like a stronger Italian grappa -- is made in the still of David Nahmias, a distiller born into a Moroccan Jewish family who makes mahia, a traditional dried fig-based spirit from his homeland. 

"They came to me through word of mouth. Their alcohol uses the same process as arak, which you find in Syria or Lebanon -- but without the anise. It wasn't complicated for me... And I liked them!" Nahmias said. 

The creators of SAG, aged between 35 and 41, settled in New York several years ago and remain active in the local Iranian diaspora and all have day jobs.

They were the first to bring aragh sagi to the US market, although a handful of brands exist in Europe. 

-' I feel privileged' -

The company's output of 7,000 bottles a year -- sold for $50 a pop in around 30 liquor stores and available in as many bars -- remains modest.

But bars have latched on to their creation as a way to promote new cocktails.

"We just started this back in the day, as a hobby... we kind of want to grow organically," said brew group member Sasan Oskouei, a visual artist. 

The entrepreneurs see their venture as a project that goes beyond a simple spirit, representing an emotional and cultural gesture. 

"So many Iranian artists and filmmakers have highlighted some parts of Iran that haven't been seen before, and in making this, we are kind of doing the same thing," said Karampour. 

Since they launched SAG two years ago, many artistic projects have emerged to complement the brand, with parties in New York and DJ sets performed by Iranian musicians. 

Their connection to Iran through friends and family is constant, making the ongoing conflict between Tehran and their host nation all the more painful. 

"It's really tough to be seeing all these images, and then you still have to go to work and live your daily life... You technically live in two countries," said Karampour. 

With the help of large handheld food mixers, they carefully grind the mixture of dried Californian grapes and water, which they then ferment before distilling it in a large still imported from Germany. 

Amir Imani, a computer engineer, says New York was the ideal place to establish their brand, a city that is both very diverse and tolerant, and where their business is not written off as "exotic." 

"Being in New York helps, because I can see people are not supportive of what is happening in this administration -- either the war or like Immigration and Customs Enforcement and all of that," Imani said. 

"So I feel privileged that I'm here surrounded by people who think the same."

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At a gas station in Los Angeles, Ryder Thomas wore a grimace of barely suppressed anger as he filled his pickup truck, watching the cost tick up to $130 for a full tank -- $30 more than he was paying before the US and Israel attacked Iran.

"I'm mad about the price, but I'm even madder about why it's so high," the 28-year-old told AFP. 

This week, pump prices in the United States climbed to their highest level since early 2022, when Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine triggered a global surge in the cost of oil.

Hostilities in the Middle East, which began when Israel and the United States started bombing Iran on February 28, have crimped supply, sending the price of crude surging.

The war launched by President Donald Trump is unpopular all over the United States, with polls showing a clear majority disapprove of a conflict whose aims they think are unclear.

"There was absolutely no need for this war. It's just like when we invaded Iraq, there were no weapons of mass destruction," Thomas said.

"Trump is an idiot, that's all it is."

For weeks, the Republican billionaire has insisted that attacking Iran was necessary to prevent the country from acquiring nuclear weapons, and has repeatedly promised a short conflict. 

But despite the overwhelming might of the US military, the Islamic republic has blocked the Strait of Hormuz -- a global trade artery used to transport a fifth of the world's oil and gas.

— Domino effect —

The result of this squeeze on supply is rising prices, sending gas in already-expensive California above $6 a gallon ($1.59 per liter), compared with around $4.50 a gallon before the war.

Thomas worries about the domino effect this oil crunch will have on everything else he buys, as the rising cost of transport pushes up the prices of everyday goods like food and clothing.

"I hope the middle-of-the-road voters who got Trump elected start thinking about it and realize what he's done to them," he said of a president who campaigned on reducing costs for everyday Americans.

Trump voter David Chavez, who was waiting among dozens of cars lining up to refuel at Costco -- a wholesale retailer whose prices are often a little lower than average -- said it was not that simple.

"It is not nice; we don't want to pay more for gas," acknowledged the cameraman as he got his credit card ready to fill up his minivan.

However, "we don't know everything that happens behind closed doors. It's too easy to blame one person for all the problems."

— Food bank —

Chavez said he voted for Democrats in the past, but switched to Trump because of former president Joe Biden's "poor handling of immigration and poor handling of the economy."

He accused oil giants of taking advantage of the current climate to artificially inflate prices, and pointed out that stricter environmental rules in California amp up the cost to motorists in the massive state.

Nonetheless, he admitted to being disappointed in Trump, but said no one is perfect.

"Trump still handles things a little bit better," he said.

In the same gas line, 73-year-old Flo, who did not want to give her full name, said she no longer knew what or who to believe on the reasons for rising gas prices.

What she knew for certain was that increased fuel costs were making her life much harder.

"With gas this high, I go to the food bank now, more so than ever," the retiree told AFP.

"I've had to cut back on driving too."

Between her pension and a part-time job she takes home around $3,000 a month -- almost half of which is swallowed by rent.

"Life was already hard," she sighed. "But now it's just harder."

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(The Center Square) — On the heels of President Donald Trump threatening to reduce troops in Europe, the Department of War announced Friday the reduction of 5,000 troops from Germany within the next year.

The announcement comes two days after the president posted on social media that the United States was considering reducing troops in Germany.

On Thursday, The Center Square asked the president if he also was considering pulling troops out of Italy and Spain following the countries’ decisions not to provide any support in the strikes on Iran.

Trump indicated that he would consider doing the same with Italy and Spain.

“Yeah, probably will. Why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help. Spain has been horrible. Absolutely,” the president told The Center Square.

Germany is currently home to more than 36,000 American troops, the largest population in Europe. In comparison, Italy is home to nearly 13,000 troops and Spain has nearly 4,000, according to USA Facts.

The president has been at odds with many European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, over the war in Iran. Since the strikes began Feb. 28, Trump has expressed deep frustration with NATO countries over their lack of support for the U.S. strikes on Iran, despite the U.S.' support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

In addition to threatening to reduce or remove American troops from some European countries, the president has discussed a desire to pull out of NATO altogether.

It is unclear if Amy troops removed from Germany or other European nations will be shifted to other European bases or elsewhere in the world. Poland has been seen as a possible location for a build-up of American troops as it is geographically closer to Russia.

Lebanon's health ministry said 13 people were killed on Friday in Israeli strikes in the south, including in a town where Israel's army had issued an evacuation order despite a ceasefire.

The strikes in Habboush killed eight people, including a child and two women, and wounded 21 others, the ministry said, raising an earlier toll.

Other strikes in Zrariyeh killed four people, two of them women, and wounded four more, it said.

The ministry also reported a strike in Ain Baal near the coastal city of Tyre killed one person and wounded seven others.

In Habboush, where the Israeli evacuation warning was issued, an AFP photographer saw clouds of smoke rising after the raids.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli warplanes "launched a series of heavy strikes... less than an hour after" the warning.

Israel's military had said it would act "forcefully" against Hezbollah after the Iran-backed group's "violations of the ceasefire agreement", and told residents to flee to open areas at least one kilometre (0.6 miles) from the town.

The NNA also reported Israeli strikes and artillery fire on other south Lebanon locations, including Tyre.

Israel has kept up deadly strikes on Lebanon despite the April 17 ceasefire that sought to halt more than six weeks of war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The ceasefire text grants Israel the right to act against "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks". 

Israeli soldiers are operating inside a "Yellow Line" running some 10 kilometres deep inside Lebanon's border, where they are carrying out wide-scale detonations and demolitions of buildings.

The NNA said Israeli troops carried out detonations in the southern town of Shamaa, and "demolished a monastery and a school" run by a religious order in the town of Yaroun after other detonations of "homes, shops and roads" there.

- 'Fear for their lives' -

Hezbollah claimed a series of attacks on Israeli troops and sites in southern Lebanon on Friday, saying they were in response to Israeli ceasefire violations.

The group drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March with rocket fire at Israel to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Lebanon's health ministry on Friday raised the toll from Israeli strikes since March 2 to more than 2,600 dead, including 103 emergency workers and paramedics.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' under-secretary general for national society development and coordination, Xavier Castellanos, said that when Lebanese Red Cross volunteers go on a mission, "they fear for their lives".

Two Lebanese Red Cross paramedics are among those killed in Israeli strikes.

"That a person that is trying to save lives, is trying to alleviate human suffering, might be targeted, might be killed... this is something that I found absolutely unacceptable," Castellanos told reporters near Beirut.

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Facing one of the top offenses in the country on the road proved not to be a problem for Mizzou baseball's Josh McDevitt.

The Tigers' offense, however, was not ready as the team fell 4-0 to No. 5 Georgia in the series opener Friday. With the loss, the Tigers dropped to 4-18 in the Southeastern Conference.

The Bulldogs' offense is at the top of the country in many offensive categories, but it was nearly completely muted by McDevitt. He put Georgia down in order in the first, second and fourth innings, allowing just four hits and striking out six.

"He comes out and does his job, and we aren't able to scratch any runs across," Missouri coach Kerrick Jackson said postgame to Tiger Radio. "That's just not acceptable."

For the third time this season, McDevitt recorded a quality start. This time, he tossed 6⅓ innings and allowed just one run on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. 

Coming into the series, 24 home runs was the difference between No. 1 (Georgia) in the NCAA home runs category and No. 2 (Oklahoma State). Mizzou's pitching limited the long ball until late in the game.

Georgia finally pushed its lead with a solo home run off of reliever Juan Villarreal in the seventh inning. It came off the bat of Michael O'Shaughnessy, his 15th of the year. 

The Bulldogs officially broke the door down in the bottom of the eighth, tagging on two more runs with a bases-loaded single from Georgia's Ryan Black.

Down four runs heading into the ninth, the deficit was too large for the Tigers. 

"We were awful offensively," Jackson said. "All the way around." 

From the plate, the Tigers outhit the Bulldogs for most of the game, but they were unable to plate a run. Missouri put a runner on in six of the innings via its six hits and two walks but stranded them all. 

The Tigers and Bulldogs will face off again at 1 p.m. Saturday in Athens, Georgia. Lefty Brady Kehlenbrink will have the ball to start for Mizzou. 

Top-ranked Nelly Korda, coming off her third major title, closed with a birdie to seize a share of the lead after Friday's second round of the LPGA Riviera Maya Open.

The 27-year-old American fired a bogey-free five-under par 67 to stand on nine-under 135 after 36 holes at El Camaleon Golf Course in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

"It was a good day," Korda said. "Drove it really well. Hit it to the right spots on the green and capitalized on some good shots."

She finished level with compatriot Brianna Do, who fired a 69 in quest of her first LPGA title, with American Melanie Green one stroke back on 136 after shooting 70 and Japan's Minami Katsu fourth on 137 after a 68.

Korda captured the Chevron Championship last week for her third career major and also won the LPGA season-opening Tournament of Champions. She finished second in her other three starts so far this year.

Korda, who began the day two strokes behind co-leader Do, birdied the second, par-five fifth and par-three eighth, then birdied 14 and the par-five 18th to grab a share of the lead.

"Overall just a solid day," Korda said. "Didn't make any mistakes really. If I did, I bounced back really well."

Do began on the back nine with back-to-back birdies then added birdies at the par-three 15th and par-four second before a closing bogey.

"I started with two birdies on 10, 11, my first two holes, and that really got things going," Do said. "Kind of a lull in the middle on the back nine, but kept it together and shot three-under, so good round. Solid."

Spain's Carlota Ciganda and China's Liu Yu, who shot 66, shared fifth on 138 with Germany's Olivia Cowan, Mexico's Gaby Lopez, Paraguay's Sofia Garcia and Thailand's Arpichaya Yubol sharing seventh on 139.

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Fourth-ranked Cameron Young rode a hot start and surged to a five-stroke lead after Friday's second round of the PGA Cadillac Championship.

Young birdied four of the first seven holes on his way to firing a five-under par 67 and stand on 13-under 131 after 36 holes at Trump National Doral in Florida.

"I've just putted really well," Young said. "I've left myself in mostly doable spots when I've missed greens.

"But I haven't driven it great and that's something I hopefully look to return to normal over the next couple days."

Three-time major winner Jordan Spieth, fellow American Alex Smalley and Canada's Nick Taylor shared second on 136 with American Gary Woodland on 137.

Young, who won the Players Championship in March and captured his first PGA title last August at Greensboro, said he feels comfortable with a big lead, well aware it could vanish quickly on the weekend.

"I've been around the lead quite a bit and I'm not particularly uncomfortable. I've liked this golf course thus far," Young said.

"There's a lot of guys four or five back. I'm sure somebody will be four- or five-under tomorrow so you have to prepare for that."

Young topped putting and scrambling statistics.

"I avoided the bad misses for the most part. It's not like I drove it awful but I would love to play from the fairway a couple more times the next couple days," he said.

"There's a lot of golf to be played on a difficult golf course but so far I've played well. If I can drive it a little bit better, I feel like I can keep cruising and see what happens."

Young reached the green in two and birdied the par-five first hole to grab the solo lead then stretched the margin with a 17-foot birdie putt at the third and a 27-foot birdie putt at the fifth.

The lead reached four strokes when Young sank a seven-foot birdie putt at the seventh.

Young's approach at the par-five eighth was plugged in a bunker. He punched out into an adjacent bunker then blasted to five feet and rescued par.

At the par-three ninth, Young missed the green but rolled the ball just outside six feet and saved par again.

Young sank a 16-foot birdie putt at the par-three 13th, boosting his advantage to five, but then needed two shots to escape greenside rough at 14 and made his first bogey of the tournament.

Young drove the green at the par-four 16th and two-putted for birdie from 26 feet to restore his five-stroke margin.

- 'Pick your spots' -

World number one Scottie Scheffler, a four-time major winner, fired a 67 to join a pack in sixth on 138.

"It's a golf course where there's some trouble -- there's a fair amount of water but the greens are fairly big. Fairways aren't too narrow but they are hard to hit just based on how firm the golf course is," Scheffler said.

"There's definitely some challenge out there. You have to pick your spots. I did a good job of giving myself some looks today. Wish I had holed a few more but overall if I do that over the course of the next couple days I'll be in a good spot."

The $20 million signature event marks the PGA Tour's return to the Blue Monster course for the first time since 2016. Doral had hosted a LIV Golf event in recent years.

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